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London, 30 Jan: JKLF UK Chapter has announced to commemorate month of February as Month of Maqbool Butt Shaheed. In a statement to media outlets, Zonal Spokesperson Shakeel Mirza has said that all JKLF branches in the UK have been instructed to organise programs,seminars and conferences during month of February to mark the 33rd martyrdom anniversary of the founding leader of Kashmiri movement.

The spokesperson stated that on 11th February JKLF UK along with other Uk based Kashmiri organisations will protest outside Indian high commission London to expose and highlight human rights violations in IOK and to demand that Maqbool Butt,s remains should be handed over to his family.

JKLF UK has announced to double up its diplomatic efforts in order to muster up support from international community for the unfettered right of self determination of people of Jammu Kashmir. The party is also considering taking up the Jammu Kashmir issue with International Court of Justice, human rights organisations and UNO to expose the illegal occupation of Jammu Kashmir, human rights violations on both side of ceasefire line and to remind international institutions of their forgotten promises and commitments to the beleaguered people of Jammu Kashmir.

On behalf of the UK Zone of the party which is leading the diplomatic front of Kashmiri independence movement, the spokesperson warned Pakistan against her illegal and dangerous plan to make Gilgit Baltistan as her 5th province. JKLF has reiterated the dangerous implications that such a move will have, including the damage it will cause to internationally accepted disputed status of Jammu Kashmir issue. The spokesperson added that such illegal integration will provide India an excuse to absorb Ladakh and Jammu as its own provinces, and will further escalate the tensions in the region.

JKLF will not accept any suggestion or design about the division of Jammu Kashmir under any circumstances and will continue to resist any such plans in Jammu Kashmir as well as on international forums. He added that the party demands Pakistani government to restore state subject rule in Gilgit Baltistan region of Jammu Kashmir.

The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) UK- chapter today pledged to continue with their international campaign for independence of their homeland Jammu Kashmir , following the parliamentary debate on the issue in UK Parliament, where a resolution was passed in support of the right of self-determination for the people of Jammu Kashmir.

In the Parliamentary debate on 19th January, lead by the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, Mr.David Nuttall MP, the efforts of the JKLF and other Kashmiri groups in the UK were recognised and members of parliament paid tribute to British Kashmiris for their commitment and lobbying effort for a peaceful resolution of the Jammu Kashmir issue..

The motion, which was passed unanimously in the parliament chamber stated: "The House notes the escalation in violence and breaches of international human rights on the Indian side of the Ceasefire Line in Jammu Kashmir; calls on the UK Government to raise the matter at the United Nations; and further calls on the Government to encourage Pakistan and India to commence peace negotiations to establish a long term solution on the future governance of Kashmir based on the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own future in accordance with the provisions of UN Security Council resolutions”.

The debate on this motion where 29 MPs, ministers and shadow ministers from Labour, Tory and SNP took part, was a culmination of a strenuous mass lobbying campaign carried out by the JKLF and other Kashmiri organisations in 2016 following the uprising in the Kashmir valley where over a hundred civilian protestors were killed and thousands injured and blinded by the use of pellet guns.

British members of parliament paid tribute to those killed and those who have carried on with the campaign for their political rights for over 7 decades and deplored the international apathy and indifference displayed by the UK foreign office.

Debating on the motion, MPs stressed that the people of Jammu Kashmir must be given the same right to take control of their future as the one exercised by the UK in the EU referendum. MPs David Nuttall and Philip Davies said Kashmiris should be afforded the same right to self-determination as was given to the British people in the form of the Brexit vote. Intervening, Mr Davies said: “Surely it is not a question of supporting either the Indian government or the Pakistan government, it’s about supporting the people of Kashmir."

JKLF have been campaigning for the unfettered right to self-determination and independence to be recognised through public protests, parliamentary meetings and international lobbying. The mass lobby campaign in UK and Europe was launched earlier last year at a press conference held at JKLF’s International Secretariat in London and the head of their International Political and Diplomatic Campaigns, Azmat Khan, given a mandated to seek collaboration with other Kashmiri groups and double up joint efforts. Kashmiri leaders met with the UK foreign office official before UK Prime Minister’s visit to India and also asked the Labour Party’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry MP, to take up this issue with the Prime Minister, Teresa May, which was done by a letter to the foreign secretary Boris Johnson next day.

Earlier in the year, a JKLF delegation comprising of Chief Organiser Abrar Nisar, spokesman Shakeel Mirza, and Shafiq Qadri met with the Chairman all parties parliamentary group on Kashmir, Mr.David Nuttall MP in Bury, and briefed him of the dire situation on Kashmir and the wife of the JKLF chairman Yasin Malik spoke with Mr Nuttall regarding his deteriorating health and illegal detention in occupied Kashmir.

Senior JKLF leaders, including General Secretary Tahsin Gillani, UK Spokesman Shakeel Mirza, Shams Rehman and others attended the annual Scottish National Party d(SNP) conference, where they met with former party leader, Alex Salmond, who promised to support such a motion in British parliament.

In the recent months JKLF UK branches and office bearers were instructed by the President Sabir Gul to meet with their local members of Parliament and to apprise them of the need for a change in UK foreign policy on the issue of Kashmir. The UK zonal leadership have continuously engaged with other political parties and have pledged to double up their efforts to show a unified voice to the world on Kashmir. They have written to the members of parliament for their efforts and expressed gratitude in recognising the Kashmiri voice and pleas for unfettered right of self determination.

The evidence of JKLF UK Zone's diplomatic efforts could be seen and heard today in British parliament ,where British parliamentarians acknowledged that people of Jammu Kashmir seek a peaceful resolution of the issue and want their country to become a bridge of peace rather than a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Kashmiris firmly believe that a peaceful and equitable solution of the Kashmir issue is the key to a peaceful and prosperous South Asiain sub continent - a sentiment that was reiterated by JKLF patron in chief Late Amaan Ullah Khan on numerous occasions.

Respected chief guest, chairman and other dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen……

Firstly I would like to thank the Young Parliamentarians’ Forum of Pakistan, National Assembly of Pakistan for inviting me to address this august gathering of learned people. Honorable Parliamentarians, Honorable Ambassadors, and respected scholars, I say, Asalamualeikum to all of you. We all yearn for Salam or peace in the South Asia and in the world. As a member of the oppressed Kashmiri nation and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, I pray for the growth of cordial relations between Pakistan and India, which is a precondition for the resolution of Kashmir Conflict and for a lasting peace in South Asia.

The young and dynamic group of Pakistani Parliamentarians, who are the future nation and State builders of Pakistan, would hopefully share my sentiments regarding the importance of promoting sustained efforts at peace building in South Asia, particularly aimed at improving Pakistan-India relations.The brunt ofPakistan-India border hostilities is borne by Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and naturally the people of both parts of divided Kashmir are the biggest votaries of peace.

Ladies and gentlemen ……

The theme of this International Seminar rightly focusses on the humanitarian dimensions of the Kashmir Conflict, when a peoples uprising in India occupied Kashmir has been brutally suppressed by Indian military and paramilitary forces. The five month long mass uprising was crushed by an unbridled use of force. The Indian Central Police Force admitted to firing some 1.3 million pellets in the first month of the uprising, which has resulted in a plague of dead and damaged eyes. Doctors in Kashmir estimate the total number of eye injuries caused by pellets in the first four months of the uprising to be 1178. Human suffering is impossible to quantify but numbers do tell a story in Kashmir. Around a 100 people have been shot dead by bullets or mowed down by a rain of pellets, around 15000 Kashmiri youth have been injured ,roughly 10,000 youth have been arrested, most beaten and tortured in detention centers. Neighborhoods have been harassed en masse by Indian police and military forces, who in day and night raids and have administered collective punishment to Kashmiris in the form of destruction of their property, ranging from destruction of window panes, doors, laptops, motorbikes, cars or whatever has comes in the sight of rampaging troops. Parents and elderly relatives of young protestors have been arrested to force young protestors into submission. Democracies like India not only maim and kill but they also indulge in blackmail. They punish the families and relatives of dissidents to force them into silence.

We have heard a lot about human security from the United Nations. The International Community tells us that the world must move from the outdated conception of state centered national security to a people centered conception of human security. We also hear about the doctrine of R2P, about a State’s responsibility to protect its citizens but we continue to see the limits and repeated failures of liberal humanitarianism the world over. Many powerful western governments have encouraged subjugated peoples like Kashmiris to give up armed struggle and adopt non–violent means in their struggles for freedom. In the past ten years, Kashmiris have primarily relied on non-violent means in articulating their aspirations for Azadi or Independence. However, Indian State has responded with an increasing use of military force to suppress mass uprisings in Kashmir and choked all spaces for non-violent resistance. The people’s uprisings of 2008, 2010 were crushed by massive military force and the story of the 2016 people’s uprising has seen history repeating itself.

The world largely remains mute to the sufferings of Kashmiris. Diplomats of major Western democracies have even stopped paying lip service to the question of human rights in Kashmir. When some of them visit India occupied Kashmir, they lecture us on the virtues of India’s participatory democracy and about India’s democratic successes. It is like blaming the victim. Democracy, be it in a formal sense or substantive may work for the Hindu middle classes and the elite in India but Kashmiris have since 1947 harvested a bitter fruit of this democracy. This is not to suggest that Kashmir’s movement for Azadi or freedom is not a case of democratic mis-governance or decay of democratic institutions but it is an outcome of a forced incorporation of a people in a country against its will.

India as a growing market has become the darling of powerful western countries. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has listed India as the number 1 importer of weapons for the years 2010-2014.A major western power, France recently inked an arms deal with India, which is worth 8.8Billion US dollars. In the world of big business and arms deals, where do western powers stand on human rights? Can the oppressed people of Kashmir and other oppressed nationalities expect any solidarity from western democracies like USA, UK, France AND EUROPIAN UNION, which have huge economic stakes in the weapons industry? Can the David of Human rights really triumph over the Goliaths of War industry and big business?

A poor country like India is spending 40 Billion US Dollars on its military annually. A smaller economy of Pakistan has an annual defense budget of over 8 Billion US dollars. The defense budgets of the two countries continue experiencing a regular increase annually. The primary reason behind this massive spending on arms is the Pakistan-India rivalry over Kashmir, which leads to a huge loss of precious economic resources and limits economic potential of both the countries. Not surprisingly the Human Development Index Rankings of India and Pakistan stand at 130 and 147 respectively.

A just and lasting solution to the Kashmir conflict, which gives primacy to Kashmiri self-determination, would usher in an enduring and positive peace in South Asia. It would not only put an end to the suffering of Kashmiris but also help unlock the massive economic potential of South Asia, with a population that roughly adds up as one fourth of the world’s total population.

Srinagar 09 January 2017: Martyr Sajad Kenoo was one of pioneers of present struggle for freedom, Martyrs like him are our real heroes and their sacrifices for the sacred cause can never be forgotten. This was stated by the chairman of Jammu Kashmir liberation front (JKLF) Muhammad Yasin Malik while addressing a memorial meeting held to recall the sacrifices of martyr Sajad Kenoo.

Terming Sajad Shaheed as a humble person, dedicated warrior, prolific leader and a brilliant human being, Yasin Malik said that he was one of the faces of Kashmiri resistance who till his last breath stood upright for the cause of freedom and sacrificed his life while striving for it.

JKLF chairman said that the sacrifices of heroes like Martyr Sajad Kenoo can never be forgotten and today when we remember his sacrifices and struggle, we pledge to take forward his mission with passion and zeal.

Meanwhile JKLF has strongly condemned the ongoing oppression on inmates especially those who were booked under PSA that has been quashed by court but who have been re-arrested and put in various police stations in extreme cold season.

While condemning this oppression and illegal detention of these inmates, JKLF said that the families of these inmates are also being harassed by police. While appealing international Red Cross, Amnesty International, Asia watch and other bodies to intervene and save the lives of these inmates, JKLF has said that it is the obligation on these world bodies to save inmates from the wrath of oppressive regimes.

His Excellency Mr Antonio Guterres
United Nations Secretary General
UN HQ 1st Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017 USA.
Email: sgcentral@un.org
Date: 6 January 2017Sub: 20 Million people of Jammu Kashmir wish their country to become a Bridge of Peace, between India and Pakistan.

Dear Excellency before we apprise you of the urgency around the longstanding issue of Jammu Kashmir, we would like to extend our congratulations to you, on becoming Secretary General of the United Nations. We extend our sincere good will, and wish your tenure as Secretary General with full of successes in alleviating, suffering and exploitation of underprivileged, and like 20 million Kashmiris, the subjugated people of the world!

As the conscience of the oppressed, exploited and subjugated millions throughout the world, we anticipate that your Excellency will make an early intervention on status of 20 million inhabitants of Jammu Kashmir- 13 million of whom live under Indian occupation- consistent with their fundamental human and democratic rights, and in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.

Excellency as you are aware, political status of Jammu Kashmir is yet to be determined within the internationally recognised principles and rights of peoples to self-determination. Since 1947 however, this cherished objective of freedom has been denied to the Kashmiris.

Despite an existence under oppression and suffering for almost 70 years, Kashmiris have nevertheless, remained steadfast in the struggle to achieve their inherent and inalienable right to self-determination.

Excellency instead of engaging with the people of Jammu Kashmir, and the world community to find an equitable solution to the issue, Indo- Pakistan confrontation and their contention over Kashmir, has become a danger to peace and prosperity for South Asian region and rest of the world. Both countries are perilously close to a full scale war on daily basis.

Since August of 2016 their military actions across the Line of Control-LoC- in Jammu Kashmir, have resulted in deaths and injuries to hundreds of civilians. Armies of both countries are deployed eye-ball to eyeball in Jammu Kashmir which is inimical to the well-being of civilian population on either side of the forced divide.

Excellency both countries are nuclear powers and as a consequence of their contention over Kashmir, are engaged in an arms race that has catastrophic implications for all concerned.

Excellency India has around 700,000 military and para military forces deployed in the Indian held Jammu Kashmir. Indian forces enjoy total impunity of action against the population under an umbrella of draconian and anti-people laws.

Since June of 2016 these forces have unleashed some of the most inhuman methods of oppression against peaceful demonstrators. Over a hundred people, mostly young, have been killed and thousands have been injured, including around a hundred, mainly children losing their eye sight due to the use of pellet guns by the occupation forces. India to all intents and purposes imposed martial law in the valley of Kashmir with the longest curfew in the history of the territory.

Pro- self-determination leadership is denied its democratic and peaceful right to engage with the public. The right to assembly and speech is all but non-existent in the Indian held part of the territory. Since the summer of 2016 collective leaders of the freedom movement and their party workers have been incarcerated or put under house arrest. Mr Yasin Malik for example has been incarcerated in Srinagar central jail, while Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Gilani have been under house arrest for almost all of the period since June of last year.

Excellency the struggle of Kashmiri people is to decide the future status of their country. And the denial of their right to do so is a greatest injustice meted out to a people whose most cherished desire is to have peace and prosperity in their country.
India and Pakistan have abysmally failed to resolve the Kashmir issue. Even their bilateral Shimla Accord of 1972, under which they committed themselves to resolve the issue along with their other disputes, is all but dead. India does no longer recognise, contrary to the historic facts, the rights of 20 million Kashmiris to self-determination. With its military might and economic power, India is acting like a colonial power that it, in reality, is in Jammu Kashmir!

We therefore urge your Excellency to take urgent steps and measures as the custodian of world conscience, to bring India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu Kashmir to the dialogue table, and ensure that a settlement of the issue is achieved for sake of peace, justice and prosperity in the region and the world. Excellency 20 million people of Jammu Kashmir are eagerly prepared to become a bridge of peace between India and Pakistan in such process.

We further urge your Excellency to take following immediate steps:
To impress upon the Indian government, to allow pro freedom leadership its democratic right to free speech and assembly in all parts of Indian held Jammu Kashmir.

We urge your Excellency to impress upon the Indian government to remove all its military and paramilitary forces from the urban and rural areas of Indian held Jammu Kashmir, and to stop forth-with the intimidation and oppression of the civilian population.

In view of all too frequent military flare-ups across the LoC that result in loss of life and destruction of property, and immense hardship to the civilian population on both sides, we urge your Excellency to, extend the powers of the UN Military Observer Group on India and Pakistan, UNMOGIP, to monitor cease-fire violations on the Indian side of the LoC as its personnel are allowed to do so on the Pakistani side of the LoC.

Excellency we are fully aware of the difficulties that a peace process over Kashmir may entail. However, as you will agree with us, there is no alternative to peace. Kashmiris desire nothing less than a peaceful and prosperous future for themselves and the billion and half people of India and Pakistan. We anticipate that along with major issues that blight our world, the plight of 20 million Kashmiris and their inherent, inalienable and internationally recognised right to freedom and democracy, will be an urgent focus of your attention for the year 2017- a year that you yourself, have dedicated to peace and justice in the world.

Excellency resolution of the Kashmir issue is a key to peace, justice and prosperity not only in South Asia but in the world.